Polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex disease characterized by various endocrine disorders that are the potential cause of anovulation and hyperandrogenism. Anti-Müllerian hormone expression is suspected to be overexpressed in PCOS granulosa cells. AMH acts as a regulator of folliculogenesis: it is produced by the granulosa cells of follicles from the stage of the primary follicle to the initial formation of the antrum. Serum and intrafollicular AMH levels are elevated in patients with PCOS due to increased number of small follicles and an increased secretion within each of these small follicles...

Our understanding of the effects of temperature on granulosa cell (GC) physiology is primarily limited to in vitro studies conducted under atmospheric (∼20% O2) conditions. In the current series of factorial experiments we identify important effects of O2 level (i.e. 5% vs 20% O2) on GC viability and steroidogenesis, and go onto report effects of standard (37.5 °C) vs high (40.0 °C) temperatures under more physiologically representative (i.e. 5%) O2 levels in the presence of different levels of melatonin (0, 20, 200 and 2000 pg/ml); a potent free-radical scavenger and abundant molecule within the ovarian follicle...

Basement membranes are found in every organ of the body. They provide structure and a selective filter for molecules. The ovary is no different with the follicular basal lamina (FBL) separating the granulosa and theca cells, facilitating regulation of the changing follicular environment providing appropriate conditions for the developing oocyte. The FBL is modified in C1galt1 Mutant mice (C1galt1 (FF):ZP3Cre) resulting from oocyte-specific deletion of C1galt1. Changes in the FBL lead to follicles joining to generate multiple-oocyte follicles (MOFs); where two or more oocytes are contained within a single follicle...

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is critical to the regression of Müllerian ducts during mammalian male differentiation and targets ovarian granulosa cells and testicular Sertoli and Leydig cells of adults. Specific effects of AMH are exerted via its receptor, AMH type II receptor (Amhr2), but the mechanism by which the Amhr2 gene is specifically activated is not fully understood. To see whether a proximal promoter was sufficient to Amhr2 gene activation, we generated transgenic mice that bore the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene driven by a 500-bp mouse Amhr2 gene promoter...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility in women of reproductive age, and its etiology remains poorly understood. Altered activities of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been associated with human diseases and development. However, the roles of lncRNAs are unknown in reproductive medicine. We investigated the potential role of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of PCOS, using human granulosa cells (GCs) and the KGN cell line. We used microarrays to compare lncRNA expression profiles in GCs from 7 PCOS patients and 7 matched women...

Context: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and AMH type II receptor (AMHR2) are overexpressed in granulosa cells (GCs) from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common cause of female infertility. Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the regulation of the AMH/AMHR2 system by 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT) and estradiol (E2) in GCs from control and PCOS women. Design, Setting, Patients: Experiments were performed on follicular fluids (FF) and GCs from women undergoing in vitro fertilization...

Cytochrome P450 lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) is a key enzyme in sterols and steroids biosynthesis that involved in folliculogenesis and oocyte maturation, which is regulated by follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), as a key reproductive hormone during follicular development. Thyroid hormone (TH) is also important for normal reproductive function. Although T3 enhances FSH-induced preantral follicle growth, whether and how TH combines with FSH to regulate CYP51 expression during preantral to early antral transition stage is unclear...

The balances of mitochondrial dynamic changes, mitochondrial morphology, and mitochondrial number are critical in cell metabolism. Once disturbed, disorders in these processes generally cause diseases or even death in animals. We performed large-scale genetic screenings in fruit flies and discovered the new gene mitoguardin (miga) that encodes for a mitochondrial outer membrane protein. In order to examine the physiological functions of its mammalian homologs Miga1 and 2, we generated Miga1 and Miga2 single- and double-knockout mouse strains and found that the knockout mice were viable, but the females were subfertile...

Mammalian ovarian follicular development and maturation of an oocyte competent to fertilize and develop into an embryo depends on tightly regulated spatiotemporally orchestrated crosstalk between cell death, survival and differentiation signals through extra- and intra-ovarian signals, as well as on a permissive ovarian follicular microenvironment. Neuregulin-1 (NRG1) is a member of the EGF-like factor family that mediates its effects by binding to the member of the ErbB family. Our experimental results suggest that gonadotropins promote differential expression of NRG1 and erbB receptors in granulosa cells (GCs), and NRG1 in theca cells during follicular development, and promote NRG1 secretions in the follicular fluid (FF) of rat ovaries...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of DHEA supplementation on In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) outcome as assessed by ovarian response, oocyte developmental competence and live birth rates in women predicted to have poor ovarian reserve (OR). The feasibility of conducting a large trial is also assessed by evaluating the recruitment rates and compliance of the recruited participants with DHEA/placebo intake and follow-up rates. STUDY DESIGN: A single centre, double blinded, placebo controlled, randomized trial was performed over two years with 60 women undergoing in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)...

The balance between ovarian folliculogenesis and follicular atresia is critical for female fertility and is strictly regulated by a complex network of neuroendocrine and intra-ovarian signals. Despite the numerous functions executed by granulosa cells (GCs) in ovarian physiology, the role of multifunctional proteins able to simultaneously coordinate/modulate several cellular pathways is unclear. Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein (α-SNAP) is a multifunctional protein that participates in SNARE-mediated membrane fusion events...

The ovarian follicle encloses oocytes in a microenvironment throughout their growth and acquisition of competence. Evidence suggests a dynamic interplay among follicular cells and oocytes, since they are constantly exchanging "messages". We dissected bovine ovarian follicles and recovered follicular cells (FCs-granulosa and cumulus cells) and cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) to investigate whether the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway impacted oocyte quality. Following follicle rupture, COCs were individually selected for in vitro cultures to track the follicular cells based on oocyte competence to reach the blastocyst stage after parthenogenetic activation...

Advanced glycation end products accumulate in the ovarian granulosa-cell layer of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Taken that the MAPK/ERK-pathway is a key regulator of oocyte maturation and function, consisting the main pathway used by the gonadotrophic hormones (luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone) to control ovulation, the present study aims to assess advanced glycation end products' interference into luteinizing hormone-and follicle stimulating hormone-signaling via the MAPK/ERK-pathway in the human granulosa KGN cell line...

Lithium chloride (LiCl) is widely prescribed for the treatment of bipolar disorders and is associated with a higher incidence of reproductive adverse effects. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and its derivative, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), play regulatory roles in the human ovulatory process. Whether LiCl affects ovulation by regulating COX2 expression and PGE2 production in the human ovary is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of LiCl on the expression of COX-2 and production of PGE2 in human granulosa-lutein (hGL) cells, as well as the mechanisms underlying this effect...

The present study describes a multicomponent synthesis of molecular hybrid containing pyrazole, thiazole moiety using hydrazone as a linker, which have been synthesized by condensation of 1-phenyl-3-(aryl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehydes 1a-b, thiosemicarbazide and α-bromoketones 2a-c.The target hybrid compounds, 1-((1-phenyl-3-aryl-1H-pyrazole-4-yl)methylene)-2-(4-arylthiazole-2-yl)hydrazine 3a-f are characterized by (1)H-NMR, (13)C NMR, FT-IR and mass. Apoptosis inducing ability and cytotoxic nature of all the hybrid compounds having thiazole, pyrazole and hydrazone were assessed by using biological assays viz morphological, fluorescence and tunel assays on granulosa cells of ovarian antral follicles of goat (Capra hircus) in vitro...

BACKGROUND: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most frequently seen endocrine disorder in women of the reproductive age with the prevalence of about 10%. AIMS: To investigate the efficiency of the growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) during folliculogenesis in a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-induced mouse PCOS model. STUDY DESIGN: Animal experimentation. METHODS: Mice were divided into three groups; control, vehicle and PCOS group...

The present study aimed to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of the fructose‑1,6‑bisphosphatase 1 (FBP1) signaling pathway within normal follicle development and in hyperandrogenism‑induced abnormal follicle growth. To achieve this, murine primary follicles, granulosa cells (GCs) and theca‑interstitial cells (TICs) were isolated, cultured in vitro and treated with a high concentration of androgens. A concentration of 1x10‑5 mol/l testosterone was considerable to induce hyperandrogenism by MTT assay...

Sertoli and granulosa cells are two major types of somatic cells in the male and female gonads,respectively. Previous studies have shown that Sertoli and granulosa cells are derived from common progenitor cells and that differentiation of these two cell types is regulated by sex differentiation genes. The signaling pathway including the adhesion and transcription factor Ctnnb1 (cadherin-associated protein, beta 1, also known as β-catenin) regulates differentiation of granulosa cells in the absence of the transcription factor Sry, and over-activation of β-catenin in the presence of Sry leads to granulosa prior to sex determination...